Royal Affairs
by SeerofSolaris
Summary: Trying to rid the empire of her tyrannical king brother Logan, a young princess, very much use to castle life, will have to raise an army. Though a certain rebel might become more  than just another soldier willing to aid her cause. Princess/Ben Finn.
1. Ch 1: The Misfortune of Taking the Train

**Author's note:** I noticed there is very few Ben Finn stories out there, and he is such a great character and I would have loved to have my character romance him. The beginning of this is a tad slow and takes place just before Walter and the Princess get to Mourningwood Fort; so good times and Hobbe slaying ahead! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"You doing alright?" she heard Walter say from beside her as they sat on the bench and waited for the monorail car.

"Yes, I'm just very tired..."she replied looking over to her faithful mentor and companion and tried to give him a reassuring smile.

"I know what you mean, you've done well though...When we get to Mourningwood Fort we'll take a quick rest; though I doubt you'll find the facilities anything like the castles'." he replied giving her a warm pat on the shoulder and then gave a gruff chuckle.

"Any bed would do at this point." she said with a sigh at the thought of, perhaps being able to sleep in a bed instead of on the ground next to a fire pit.

Walter gave a whole-hearted laugh and gave her shoulder a little shake.

The princess suddenly saw Ambrose, her furry friend at her feet pick up his head and stare off into the distance.

"What is it boy?" she asked with a smile and leaned over and ruffled the fur on his head affectionately. "Is the car finally coming?"

She heard Walter groan.

"The only time ever..." he said as he reluctantly stood up, stretching his sore muscles.

"I'm sure it won't be all that bad." she said looking down the hanging tracks, listening intently for the rumble of a steam engine.

A loud whistle echoed in the distance, and slowly the steam boxcar emerged from the dense mist of the rocky tunnel and rolled towards the station.

"Balls..." muttered the old soldier and began to walk down to the boarding platform stiffly.

Yvette chuckled softly to herself and followed after Walter, ready to start moving again.

As they were descending the stairs a sudden eerie screech reverberated throughout the station, causing the soldier and the princess to stop in their tracks.

Another screeching whine and everyone in the station turned and looked up at the monorail car that had stopped oddly short of the boarding platform.

It suddenly began to shake and teeter on its' tracks, the screeches and whines from the engine growing. Flames suddenly erupted from the pistons and gears, quickly engulfing the car; the screams of the passengers crying out form help were nearly swallowed up by the roar of the spreading fire.

"By the Hero Queen." Walter gasped and looked up at the flaming monorail in horror.

"If the fire reaches the engines-" Yvette began when the car exploded.

As slabs of the car began to fall into the open chasm below, the rail holding up the smoldering transport groaned and snapped, sending the remaining carriage into the abyss below.

"We have to help them!" Walter roared and bolted forward down the rest of the stairs and rushed towards the platform the princess and her faithful hound right on his heels.

Hurriedly the pushed through the crowd that had gather, all standing in shock and horror, murmuring softly to one another about what had just occurred.

"We need to get down there!" the old soldier said back to his companions, a look of determination on his weathered face.

"How...?" Yvette asked glancing to the barred gate ahead of them, if they couldn't find a way to unlock the gate, they were going nowhere.

Walter glanced back to the gate, his eyes narrowing before stepping towards the gate; unsheathing his sword.

"What are you doing?" she asked in mild concern, as she starred at the sharped blade.

"Unlocking this bloody gate!" Walter replied gruffly and jammed the blade between two of the rungs on the gate.

For a moment she feared the blade would bend or worse brake under the strain of Walter's pushing and pulling.

The iron gate burst open with a loud whine; Walter's blade whooshed back, the tip nearly nicking the tip of Yvette's nose, causing her to jump back in surprise at the close call.

"Come on!" he said wasting no time in rushing forwards through the now broken gate.

Yvette paused for just a moment, to shake the feeling of surprise of nearly getting sliced across the face, before whistling to her furry companion and running off to try and catch up with Walter.

* * *

As they descended down the rickety old iron staircase into the ebbing light of the chasm, Yvette couldn't help but feel something ominous was ahead of them, and she began to feel very uneasy. At her side her faithful hound whined softly, tucking his tail between his legs.

"What is it boy?" she whispered somewhat nervously, pulling out her pistol and hugging it to herself tightly.

They were almost at the bottom, and the air had grow thick and stale.

"It must have fallen somewhere around here..." Walter said back, looking around in the darkness, as they stood on the rocky earth once more.

An eerie cackle suddenly echoed throughout the darkness.

"What was that...?" the princess asked shakily, feeling the hair on the back of her neck begin to stand on end.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Walter said lowly, slowly drawing his sword out and taking a few cautious steps forward.

As they edged further into the cave they began to see a soft glow at the bend ahead; it flickered an swayed the shadows such as a fire would.

"Do you see that?" Yvette questioned her mentor, cocking her pistol.

"Aye, come on..." he replied tensely; briskly moving forward.

As they rounded the corner, weapons at the ready, Yvette felt a escape from her lungs; they had found the monorail car.

Still ablaze, the fire roaring and crackling in vigor; the old soldier sighed and shook his head sadly at the sight.

"Poor sods...didn't stand a chance..." he said grimly as he began to approach the flaming carriage.

As she went to follow Walter a sudden rustling and growling stopped her in her tracks. Before she or the soldier could do anything a pale grayish-green creature the size of a child jumped out from behind a large boulder near the roaring flames.

The creature looking around in curiosity, its' ugly face held an impish visage about it; quickly it spotted the three intruders and it let out a grating screech. Almost immediately a dozen more of its kin jumped out from their hiding places, snarling and brandishing poor, makeshift weapons.

"Hobbes...I had a feeling they were behind this..." Walter growled through gritted teeth as he gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.

Yvette looked around wildly, before picking a target and open firing on the Hobbe that had begun to run towards her, gurgling and cackling.

The bullet landed right between its' eyes, pushing it back into the flaming car.

Walter pushed to more back with the sweep of his sword,landing them in the heat of the dancing fire; the creatures screamed and cried as the flames consumed them.

After a small scuffle, Walter beheaded the last of the Hobbes and quickly sheathed his sword, grimacing at the blood rivulets that streaked the blade, he would have to clean it off later when they reached the fort.

"We should get moving..." he muttered, obviously annoyed at the little creatures appearance. "We should be able to find our way out form here."

Yvette holstered her pistol and clicked her tongue to Ambrose, who, much to Walter's and her own disgust was happily gnawing on a Hobbes leg.

"Come on boy!" she urged him as she quickly followed after Walter.

The cavern was beginning to reek of burning flesh, and she was all to happy to get away from the stench.

As they continued to venture further into the caverns, attempting to find a possible way out and not end up were they had started; Yvette found herself watching the shadows dance across the cave walls wearily. Each time she wondered if it was another ambush of Hobbes, or just her mind playing tricks on her.

"It's hard to believe they were once children." she heard Walter say.

"I thought those were just stories." she replied in nervous curiosity._'Could the stories really be true...'_

At her side she suddenly heard Ambrose growl lowly; turning to him she saw him bristle, his hackles raised.

"Guess those little buggers what some more!" Walter roared, drawing his sword and racing forward.

Drawing her pistol once more she dashed after her mentor, trying her best not to pay any heed to the dancing shadows that danced upon to wall.

* * *

After around a half a dozen more skirmishes, a few scrapes and bruises and one very cold swim in the cavern river, Yvette was sore, tired and ready to collapse then and there.

"Hey, you see that up ahead?" she heard Walter say somewhat more cheerfully than he usually would have while being stuck in a cold dark cave.

Looking up from her tired feet she noticed that up ahead the cave seemed to open up and light began to filter into the chasm once more.

"The way out?" she asked hopefully looking over to Walter.

"We can only hope, lets go see."

With new found energy the three travelers moved briskly towards the brightening expanse; when the reached the airy chamber they paused, unsure of what to make of the sight before them.

It appeared to be an underground city, long forgotten and lost to ruin; a few stone pillars and partial buildings still stood, a reminder of what once was.

"How do you think all of this got here?" Yvette asked, carefully watching her step and staying clear of the long drop, off the narrow pathway.

"I doubt the Hobbes built it, if that's what you're asking." Walter replied looking around. "I don't think they're smart enough."

As they approached the center of the chamber Yvette noticed that a large colosseum-like structure stood tall and proud, despite its state of ruin. Once again she began to feel uneasiness creep back into her mind.

"Come on we're almost there." Walter called back as he broke into a trot and rushed through the stone archways that stood at the entrance to the colosseum.

Yvette hurried after him, not wishing to be let behind with the Hobbes; her furry companion right on her heels.

As soon as she ran through the doors of the arena she heard a loud cranking and then an earth shattering thud. She jumped in surprise and quickly spun around to see a large stone slab had closed over the entrance.

"Balls!" she heard Walter groan and she turned to see him standing in the center of the structure looking ahead to the exit which had been barred as well.

A cackling they had grown accustomed to over the past hour echoed through the air and Walter and the the princess looked up to see that they had been surrounded. A horde of Hobbes stood, fidgeting and chattering on top of the colosseum walls.

"This can't be good..." the old soldier grunted, weapon ready.

Yvette pulled out her sword, her trigger finger so tired and sore she didn't know if she would be able to fire anymore.

"We'll get out of here don't you worry!" Walter said back to her as the first wave descended down upon them.

* * *

Yvette had never been so happy to see the light and breath the fresh air as she limped out of the Hobbe infested cave with Walter right behind her and Ambrose at her side.

Walter gave a sigh of relief and then took a deep breath.

"Ah, the odd, heavy scent, warm soft ground,...Yes we're definitely in Mourningwood." he said taking a few steps out into the wooded area, feeling the soft ground beneath his feet squish slightly beneath his weight.

"An odd scent indeed..." Yvette said almost to herself, wrinkling her nose but deciding it was better than burning Hobbe flesh or the Bowerstone sewers.

Tiredly she took a seat on a took a seat on a fallen log, not far from the cave entrance as Walter pulled out a wrinkled old map from his pocket and starred at it momentarily before taking in his surroundings.

"Ah! I know where we are now!" he exclaimed and shoved the map back into his pocket.

He turned to the princess and waved her over.

"Come on, it's not much further now, and then we can take a rest." he called out to her.

She nodded, standing up and quickly stretched her aching muscles, and clicked her tongue at her dog, who trotted over to her and looked at her expectantly.

"Almost there boy..." she said and ruffled the fur on his head before following after Walter.

As she followed after the old soldier she couldn't help but hope a warm bath and a warm bed awaited her at the Fort.


	2. Ch 2: Minding One's Manners

**Author's Note:** here it the second installment to Royal Affairs, I hope you all are enjoying it so far. A bit of a slow start, boring the readers with details most likely, but anyways, in this chapter Ben Finn makes his long awaited appearance; and will the princess finally find a warm bed? On another note, if you had a mustache like Major Swifts, wouldn't you just be twirling it all day?...Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Almost there her arse; they had been wondering around the forest for nearly an hour, and she was fairly certain that this was the third time they passed that tree. Cautiously she stepped over a large puddle, not wishing to become knee deep in stagnate water and add that to the list of why she needed a bath. Somewhat perturbed she looked up to Walter, who was currently looking at the map once more.

"It should be around here somewhere, you can't just up and move a bloody fort!" he grumble to himself, looking around in annoyance.

Yvette sighed and looked down to Ambrose who whined softly at her and cocked his head to the side.

"Hopefully, we'll be there soon boy...hopefully." she said and gave him a quick pat on the head before looking back up at Walter, who was now pacing. "Are we lost?"

"No, no...I think this map might be wrong..." he replied, not bothering to look up.

"So...we're lost..." she repeated

She watched as he opened his mouth to correct her when a loud blasted sounded out through the forest, shaking the earth and causing the birds roosting in the trees to go into a frenzy.

"Ha! That sounded like a mortar!" Walter exclaimed and shoved the abused map back into his pocket. "It doesn't sound like they're too far off, come on!" with that he sprinted off towards the sound, Yvette trying to keep up with him while trying to keep herself from losing her shoes in the mud.

"You don't think they'll fire on us do you?" she called up to him as she nearly tripped over a log rounding a tight bend in the overgrown path.

"If they do hopefully they're new recruits and have shoddy aim!" he called back with a bark of laughter.

She was unsure if he was being serious or if he was just joking with her; though either way she did not want a search party looking for bits and pieces of her in the forest canopy, if they did end up shooting at them.

They emerged from the overgrown forest into a clearing marred with mortar craters and temporary wooden barriers and just beyond that the flag of Albion flying over the walls of the Fort.

"You're wasting time, you don't want to get shot now do you?" Walter teased over his shoulder as he slowed his stride to a brisk walk.

"No..." she replied and quickly began to hurry down the knoll after him.

Yvette was quite relieved when they walked up to the wooden gates of the fort all in one piece and not any worse for wear.

"Open the gates!" Walter shouted up at the man controlling the lever to the gate.

"Are you, man or Hollow man?" came the somewhat nervous reply.

Walter groaned and looked back to the princess with a look of mild annoyance, before turning back to the Fort entrance.

"Well why do you take a look for yourself." he said mockingly. "what do you think!"

"...Man...alright I'm opening up the gate!" the man replied, frightened by Walter's gruff tone.

"What was that all about?" Yvette looked to Walter in confusion.

"I have no idea, but I have a feeling we'll find out sooner rather than later." he replied and began to walk through the gates, now opened to them.

Almost immediately the old soldiers' gloomy demeanor perked up as he spotted two soldiers standing not far from the Fort entrance.

The seemingly older of the two men looked up, his face held a look of surprise as he watched the odd group of companions approach.

"...Walter?" he said in slight disbelief as the taller man came to stand in front of him.

"There he is! The one and only Major Swift." Walter exclaimed and extended his hand expectantly.

The one called "Swift" broke into a grin and quickly took the invitation and shook Walter's hand firmly.

"It is you! Its been awhile!" he said and laughed happily.

"Aye, it has! Logan just loves to put you on missions like this doesn't he? " he asked grinning.

Major Swift smiled slyly.

"That he does." he replied and gave his old friend an firm pat on the shoulder.

Walter laughed and then looked over to man standing at Swift's side.

"And is that Ben Finn?" he asked still grinning like a fox in the hen house, knowing full well the answer.

"You know it." came the man's cocky reply, along with a smug smirk.

Yvette had fallen behind, as she took in the sight of the fort and dragged her tired feet; it looked different that she had expected it to. She watched as Ambrose ran around the barricaded area, with newfound energy, going up to each soldier he came across and begged for attention.

She was so caught up in watching Ambroses' antics that she nearly ran into Walter, and she jumped back in surprise.

"Ah there she is!" she heard her mentor say with a chuckle and he looked over his shoulder at her and gave her an amused grin.

She immediately composed herself, somewhat embarrassed she had already made a fool out of herself, and she quickly stepped around the large man and stood at his side, trying to regain some of her dignity.

"So this is the princess." the taller of the two men said and twirled the tip of his long mustache around his index finger thoughtfully.

"Aye, Yvette, this is Major Swift, Major Swift Yvette." Walter said introducing them quickly.

"Hey, what about me?" she looked over to the man at Swift's side,

The man was shorter than the Major, perhaps her height, with soft blonde hair, and the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

"What about you?" Walter asked gruffly but she could tell he was pulling the mans' chain and she quickly, less she be caught starring, turned her attention back to the Major, trying not to pay any heed to the sound of Walter and the blonde soldiers' bickering.

"Pleased to meet you." she said and shook Swift's hand firmly.

"You as well, princess." he replied with a nod and a kind smile.

"Please, just call me Yvette, no need for such formality." she told him with a shy smile.

"Of course."

She looked over to Walter who must had finished his squabble, he glared at the other man before beginning to speak.

"Yvette, this is Ben Finn, Ben this is the princess." he said gruffly.

Yvette gave the old soldier a look and sighed at his childishness, before turning her attention to the man called Ben Finn.

"Pleased to meet you mister Finn..." she began and extended her hand to him.

Though instead of shaking it, he took it in his, bowed his head and placed a kiss upon it.

"Just Ben, please." he told her looking up at her, giving her a sly smile.

She quickly told herself not to look into it too much, but she could already feel her face and ears becoming hot

"Ben!" Walter huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What?" the blonde soldier asked, trying to sound as though he had no idea why the man would be upset with him.

But before either of them could say any more Yvette quickly piped up ending the squabble before it even began.

"I am sure you both know why we are here." she said looking from Major Swift to Ben Finn curiously.

"At first we suspected it was only a rumor, King Logan's little sister, going out and trying to gather up an army." Swift replied giving her a thoughtful glance. "But here you are."

"We can't do this without your help." Walter said in all seriousness.

"Yes, but we have our hands full at the moment." the Major said shaking his head.

"What do you mean?" she asked giving him an odd look.

"Every night, we have been attacked by the undead...Hollow men..." Swift said gravely, casting a weary glance to Ben.

"No matter how many times we send them back to their bloody graves, they just keep coming back." Ben said through gritted teeth, narrowing his eyes.

"Why would they be attacking?" Yvette asked softly looking up to Walter who was stroking his beard in thought.

Walter finally shrugged his massive shoulders and looked down to her in defeat.

"I have no idea." he replied and then looked over to Major Swift. "What can we do to help?"

"A few extra hands would be great sending those demons back to their graves." Swift replied with a smile.

"Ah, then it will be just like old times my friend!" Walter said with a laugh.

"Wonderful! Ben why don't you take the princess up to the mortar and show her the ropes." Swift said glancing over to Ben and the princess.

"Sure thing." the other soldier replied with a crooked smile, before turning to the woman before him. "My lady, this way." he added with a mocking bow, playfully glancing at Walter out of the corner of his eye.

"behave yourself Finn." the old soldier said with a sigh as he watched the princess follow after the blonde man.

As Yvette followed behind Ben, her curiosity quickly got the better of her and she found herself opening her mouth once again.

"Why is it you tease Walter so?" she questioned the man as they made their way over to a worn granite staircase.

At first he didn't answer and for a moment she thought that maybe her question had insulted him.

"For old times sake...and I just like to pull the old goats beard." he finally said over his shoulder as they climbed the staircase briskly.

"Oh..." was all she said and fell silent.

As she reached the top of the steps she nearly ran into the blonde soldier who had stopped on the last step, and she quickly muttered an apology.

He turned to her.

"I realized I might have come off as a bit brash..." he said crossing his arms over his chest, his piercing blue eyes giving her a look of curiosity.

"It's alright, I understand you're under a lot of stress right now, who wouldn't be with Hollow men and such?" she replied, her eyes darting away from his gaze, feeling slightly fidgety under the scrutiny of those blue orbs.

He laughed heartedly before continuing.

"Well, either way, I wish to introduce myself properly, especially in the face of such royalty." he said with a crooked smile, one she had decided was one of his defining attributes.

"Of course." she replied, a smile playing across her lips. "You must be on good terms when I become queen." she added jokingly, beginning to feel slightly more at ease.

"That I must!" he replied his smile growing, as he extended his hand to her, which she took without hesitation. "My lady, might I introduce myself, I am Captain Benjamin Finn of the Royal Army." he said while giving her hand a firm shake, before once again bowing his head and pressing a mocking kiss to her knuckles.

She found herself giggling softly.

"At ease soldier." she told him playfully as he straightened back up and gave her a grin.

"Aye, ma'am...now we've got a mortar to attend to, I fear it might think we have forgotten it." he said, glancing over his shoulder.

"Oh, of course!" Yvette stammered, feeling as though she was the cause of the delay.

Ben smiled at her sudden uneasiness.

"Come on, you have a date with heavy weaponry." he said to her as he continued to walk again.

Yvette nodded, though mostly to herself, and once again found herself following after him; glad that she would be shooting and being shot at.


	3. Ch 3: When the Dead Walk the Earth

**Author's Note:** I don't know about you but Hollow men creep me out...not as much as the Crawler, but still. Anyways here is the third installment, I was quite fond of using the mortar, blasting hollow men into little bits...and I always feel bad for Jammy, he seemed like a sweetie, and living through all those attacks too... Oh and I would like to thank my reviewers, your comments are appreciated; hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Jammy!"

_"Jammy?"_

"Captain Finn!" a young soldier called out waving the Captain down.

Yvette was surprised to see a man in such condition still on duty; with a bandaged arm in a sling, gauze wrapped around his head and over one eye, he looked as though he had decided to take a stroll through the land of the dead and back.

"Princess, this is Jammy, we call him that because he's the luckiest bastard in the ranks." Ben said as he introduced he to the other soldier.

She quickly shook the mans' hand that was not bound yup and gave him a polite smile.

"Jammy is it?" she asked, giving his injuries a quick glance.

"Yup, wounded seven-hundred-twenty-four times!" he said proudly, his eye sparkling happily, seemingly oblivious or perhaps undeterred to the injuries he sustained.

"Then I guess you are pretty lucky." she commented with a grin, which he returned.

"Alright, we're not at a tea party, we can all chat later." Ben said jokingly though his voice held a tone of impatience.

"Aye, captain!" Jammy said and gave a quick salute and Yvette quickly turned her attention back to the blonde soldier and then to the heavy weaponry.

She stared down at the machine in front of her, feeling rather unprepared at the thought of using it.

"Don't worry so much, it's easy!" Ben reassured her as he crouched down in front of the mortar. "You get down here too." he added when he noticed she hadn't budged.

Quickly she did as she was told and crouched down next to him; listening intently as he explained the intimidating looking weapon in front of her. When he finished he urged her to use it.

"Go ahead give it a go, and maybe if you get good enough you can eventually _try_ and beat my score." Ben said with a smirk as he stood up and waited.

"What should I shoot at?" she asked, somewhat eager to try out now, she did love a challenge.

"We've set up some scarecrows for target practice, try hitting one of those!" Jammy said excitedly.

"Alright, let's give this a try." she said almost to herself as she began to rotate the barrel of the weapon towards the first scarecrow she spotted. Carefully she did her best to align her shot up with what she thought would be a hit; bitting her lower lip she grasped the rope in her hand tightly, she held her breath as she yanked the twine roughly. The mortar fired with a deafening _**BOOM!**_ the iron ball soared through the air and slammed into the ground, managing to hit the scarecrow dead center, catapulting wood splitters and tattered cloth into the air.

Yvette placed her hand over her ear, which was ringing from the loud crack of the mortar going off, with any luck she would be deaf by the end of the day.

"Brilliant!" said Jammy grinning ear to ear.

"How'd that feel?" Ben asked grinning as well.

"What?" she asked, still cupping her ear, the soldiers voice sounding soft and muffled.

Ben laughed.

"Don't worry you'll get used to it!" he replied, raising his voice so that she could hear him.

"I fear I will be deaf by tonight!" she said, not realizing how loud she was talking.

He laughed again before placing a new round in the barrel of the mortar.

"Now hit the other one!" Ben shouted, making sure she could hear him.

She nodded and once again set the scarecrow in her sights and fired, this time putting a finger in the ear that was closest to the mortar, it helped, if only a little.

Once again the iron ball blasted the wooden man to bits.

"...Nailed the bastard..." she meant to say to herself, though being as how her ears were, she said it much louder than she had intended.

"Princess! Quite the mouth you have there!" Ben said feigning shock and disappointment.

Yvette felt her face heat up, embarrassed that she had said it so loudly; she had always been taught that only pirates and scoundrels swore, never princess', though that never stopped her before..._besides it felt so very rebel-like dammit! _

"You've got one more left..." Ben told her, but before she could turn the mortar, Jammy said something that made her stop in her tracks and look up slowly and uneasily.

"Hey...I don't remember setting that last one up..." he said, scratching his chin.

"What do you mean? We can see it right there." Ben replied frowning, wondering if Jammy had finally been hit in the head too many times.

"I've got a rather awful feeling about this..." Yvette said looking up to the blonde soldier.

A soft rumbling suddenly captured the trios attention and they slowly, almost reluctantly faced the expanse outside the barricade.

The being that lay strung up like a scarecrow for target practice, began to writhe and shake until it was free of it bonds...a Hollow man.

"Oh bloody hell." Ben hissed as the undead begin to walk towards the fort, more blue orbs landing around it, and more Hollow men sprouting up from the ground like uncontrolled weeds.

Jammy ran over to the side of the stone pathway and shouted down to the soldiers inside the fort walls.

"We've got Hollow men approaching!"

"We know! Do your best to hold them off with the mortar." Swift shouted back as he drew his sword, Walter at his side doing the same. "Alright men, we'll get through this! Lets show those bastards what we're made of!" Swift then shouted to his men who cheered, swords in the air.

Yvette expected Ben to take over the mortar but instead he reached for his rifle, quickly loading it and cocking it.

"Fire on those bastards! Give 'em hell!" he commanded her, his voice clipped and serious, play time was over.

Pulling the trigger he landed a well placed shot between the eyes of one of the bone men, knocking it's skull clean off; fluidly, almost as if it took no effort whatsoever he fired off another shot, knocking off another head.

Yvette now feeling the pressure, did her best to load the mortar quickly and aim it towards an approaching group; she pulled the rope. It managed to hit some of them, but a few managed to stagger away from the blast.

"Dammit..." she cursed under her breath and hurried to load another round.

"More them, coming from the left!" Ben shouted to her as she once again situated herself behind the weapon.

As fast as she could she swiveled the gun to the far left, quickly spotting her target; this time she managed to get them all.

* * *

Slowly she tried to whittle away at the attacking horde, but it seemed as though there was no end to their onslaught; every time she took out another group Ben would shout out more were coming from the opposite direction. Soon it was no use and she could here Major Swift commanding his men to try and barricade the gates as Hollow men began to pile up behind it in an attempt to push it down.

"We have to get down there!" Ben shouted, glancing over to her and she nodded standing up quickly, abandoning the mortar.

Hurriedly she ran after the blonde soldier, Jammy right behind her, attempting to load his rifle while he ran.

On the last step of the stone staircase she heard the men shouting and then the sound of splintering wood as the Hollow men broke down the gate and stumbled inside.

"Oh, bloody hell..." she hissed under her breath, and she quickly grabbed her pistol.

"You can say that again princess!" Ben shouted back to her, firing off a few shots at the Hollow men that had begun to swarm in through the broken gates.

Yvette quickly tried to put as much space between herself and the undead as she began firing upon them, trying to aim for the ones that had begun to gang up on soldiers. She managed to shoot one in the back of the skull that was about to cleave one of the soldier's in half while he bashed away at another Hollow man with his lute.

Soon though her pistol was no use as more and more of the bone men began to close in around her; she quickly holstered her pistol and drew out her long sword, before charging forward into battle.

As she continued to hack away at the numerous Hollow men she suddenly heard Ben Finn cry out in dismay; she whipped around just in time to see Jammy fall to the ground, dead.

"No, Jammy!" Ben cried out shooting the creature that had slain his friend at point blank.

Yvette felt her chest tighten, and she gritted her teeth, feeling new found energy flow through her.

"_It wasn't fair!" _she thought to herself, felling two Hollow men. _"he had survived seven-hundred-twenty-four wounds; he bloody well deserved to survive the seven-hundred-twenty-fifth!"_

After what seemed to be an eternity, the horde slowly died down with Swift cutting down the last of them.

"Maybe, the bastards will think twice about leaving their graves!" Swift said with a sigh as he lanced his sword into the earth and leaned on it tiredly.

"I doubt it." Ben replied strapping his rifle to his back once again before wiping the sweat from his forehead on the back of his sleeve.

A blue orb suddenly floated over head and Yvette felt her heart sink into her stomach, it seemed as though they had spoken too soon.

"Balls..." Walter said under his breath as they all watched as the wispy ball landed over the grave of Lieutenant Simmons, one of the men who had died in one of the earlier attacks.

"Lieutenant Simmons, I ordered you to stay buried!" Swift commanded the dead man as the earth around the recently undisturbed grave began to crumble and shake.

"Doesn't anyone listen to orders anymore?" Ben asked as he pulled his rifle out, loading it.

"I guess not..." the princess said with a sigh as she reached for her pistol.

The earth around the grave suddenly exploded with a wave energy, that rippled across the fort, knocking nearly everyone off their feet. Yvette was slammed up against the granite wall, the air knocked from her lungs, leaving her gasping painfully. She and Ben had been far enough away to not feel the full brunt of the waves force, but as she looked to her right, she found Ben slumped against the wall, out cold.

"...oh balls..." she said as she looked back up to the dead lieutenant that had spotted her and was running full force at her.

She only just managed to jump out of the way as one of the Hollow man's massive cleavers. She quickly fired off a few shots, though it didn't seem to phase the massive Hollow man, as he pulled the cleaver from the earth turning to face her once more.

As she turned to gain more ground, between herself and the dead lieutenant Simmons she saw nearly a dozen more wisps fall to the earth.

"Bloody Hell!" she shouted, in anger as more Hollow men, sprouted up from the ground.

* * *

She began to feel extremely dizzy and off balance and she spun and summersaulted away from the advancing bone men. Gaining a good amount of distance from the Hollow men she picked another two off and fired another few rounds into the lieutenant for what felt like the millionth time, before spinning away as he swung at her.

She could feel her muscles screaming in protest as another Hollow man fell, a bullet in his skull; now only the good lieutenant was left, though she wasn't sure she had the energy to take him down.

Backing up a bit farther she began to fire on him without mercy, holding her ground, even as he charged towards her; though she wasn't even sure if her legs would comply with her if she asked them to move.

"Why won't you die!" she hissed as continued to fire.

He was almost upon her when he fell to the earth, bones riddled with bullets and slash marks from blades..

"Thank Avo..." she said, barely managing to holster her pistol as she swayed tiredly on her feet.

She was spent, the adrenaline that had coursed through her veins ebbed away, and she fell to her knees, breathing deeply.

"Stay dead this time..." she managed to say as she slumped to the earth, passing out from exhaustion.


	4. Ch 4: Life of a Soldier

**Author's Note:** Seems like our princess is constantly on the move...this one with contain a bit of artistic liberties, but not much, just when the princess and dear Walter are traveling back to Bowerstone...Thank you again to all that have reviewed, I am glad you are enjoying it? Here is chapter four, hope you all enjoy, reviews are appreciated both comments and criticisms are welcome...oh and this story hasn't done anything as of yet to merit it's M rating, and will only do so much later on, I was wondering if it should be changed to T and then M later on, or if it should remain at it's rating?

* * *

The back of his head throbbed painfully as he groggily opened his eyes, feeling as though he had just been hit by a canon ball. He heard a whine and then felt something wet lap against his hand, making his fingers twitch irritably.

He groaned, squinting in the new morning light and glance to his side, not daring to move his head, in fear it would throb even more; he saw a familiar furry face starring up at him tentatively.

"Hey, where have you been you big baby, hiding when there's a battle to be fought." he chided humorously, chuckling when the hound whined softly, trying to gain some sympathy.

Ben lifted his arm painfully and gave the dog a soft pat on the head before scratching the hounds ears.

"You're lucky I have a soft spot for dogs..." he said, closing his eyes and slumping further against the stone wall.

Carefully he brought his hand up to the back of his head and tenderly prodded the fairly evident welt that had formed.

"...Bloody hell..." he hissed.

He heard the dog at his side whine softly again and nudge his arm gently, and he glanced back down to beast.

"What is it boy?" he asked tiredly.

It suddenly hit him _the princess! Where was the princess? _he sat up quickly, ignoring the painful throbbing from his skull and looked around somewhat frantically. Numerous soldiers littered the ground, some of them groggily slipping in and out of consciousness, others lying motionless. From his limited vantage point he couldn't see Walter or Major Swift, but as he continued to scan the marred fort he spotted a small body laying upon the ground, near the center of the fort. He felt his heart drop as struggled to his feet, using Ambrose for support as he staggered over to the fallen royalty.

He slumped to his knees by her side and looked down at her fearfully; she was face down on the ground, and he couldn't tell if she was breathing. He looked over to Ambrose who whined at him and looked down to his fallen master and then back up to the blonde man.

Taking a deep breath, he held it as he slowly turned her over. Apart from her dirtied face and clothes, she didn't appear to have any major wounds, few cuts and scrapes, but nothing serious. As he looked down her slender form he noticed that her chest rose and fell slowly, evenly, and he released the breath he had been holding.

"You see boy? she's fine." he said looking back over to the hound, with a relieved smile.

Ambrose barked at the man and wagged his tail happily.

Ben chuckled and looked back down to the sleeping princess, it surprised him that this was the first time he had actually taken a good look at her. The soft shape of her face covered in dirt and sweat, her chestnut brown hair, caked with mud and dried blood; he hoped it wasn't hers. As he continued to gazed down her body he took note of her once most likely regal looking clothing, had become tattered and muddy, no doubt to her resent adventuring; and he wondered if she would throw a fit when she took notice.

He allowed his eyes to wander to her chest, stopping momentarily at the fringes of her blouse just below her collar bone, before moving lower. He suddenly heard her groan softly and he snapped his head back up to look at her face.

* * *

Even before she opened her eyes she felt as though the world was spinning, she groaned again and brought her hand up to her forehead, feeling the grime that streaked her face.

She heard a familiar chuckle from above her and she reluctantly opened her eyes.

"Not exactly, the first thing a lady wants to see when she wakes up..." she muttered jokingly as she gazed up at the blonde soldier sitting by her side.

"Forgive me dear woman, for sullying your view." he replied with a playful grin and went to move his head, only to have the princess grip the sleeve of his arm.

"Your head is blocking the light nicely..." she replied with a sheepish smile, which only made his smile grow wider.

"Well I'm glad I could be of assistance, your majesty." he said, settling back down with a sigh, slinging his arm over Ambrose who sat beside him contentedly. "How do you feel?"

"Agh...Like I had far too much wine..." she said closing her eyes.

Ben laughed at this.

"You and me both princess, tell me, we didn't get into any drunken shenanigans then did we?"

Even through the dirt smudged across her face Ben could see a faint blush form on her cheeks and nose, but she played along, despite it.

"I fear Walter would throw a fit." she said with a soft chuckle, gazing up at the man above her, her brown eyes sparkling. She hadn't joked around like this since...since well, since Elliot.

She felt her heart sink; after that horrible night at the castle she hadn't seen him since, and she could only hope he was alright.

Ben noticed her face fall and he wondered she was thinking about.

"Gold piece for your thoughts?" he asked her, looking at her curiously.

"...It's a long story..." she replied, and he took it that she didn't want to talk about it, at least not at the moment.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon them, and Ambrose whined softly at the sudden stillness, feeling uneasy.

"I'm sorry about Jammy..." he suddenly heard her murmur, and he felt his chest tighten a little.

"He was a good soldier...a good friend." he replied solemnly. "...Who knows maybe he'll pay us a visit as a ghost." he then added trying to sound optimistic, forcing a smile; but his eyes gave him away.

Silence fell between them once more.

"...balls." came a familiar voice.

"Walter?" Yvette said, as she shot up from her position on the ground, sitting up quickly; regretting getting up as fast as she did almost immediately, though she quickly shook it off and glanced around the fort grounds.

She quickly spotted him getting up on shaky legs near the fort gates, leaning on his sword for extra support.

"Bloody Hollow men..." he muttered to himself as he looked up, and spotted the princess. "Thank the Hero Queen, you're alive! For a moment I feared the revolution would be all over if I found your mutilated corpse." he said with a laugh and began to make his way over to her, somewhat off kilter.

"Thank you for the encouragement Walter." she said back, leaning back on her elbows and sighing tiredly.

Walter paused for a moment on his way over an knelt down and nudged Major Swift, softly. When the man didn't stir, Walter took it upon himself to wake the man, and gave him slap across the face.

"By Avo, what are you doing?" Swift shouted out as he bolted up and placed a hand over the sore spot on his face.

"Oh come off it, I didn't even hit you that hard old friend." Walter said with a chuckle and stood back up offering his hand to the annoyed Major.

"Old friend indeed...I will never applaud your ways of waking people up." he replied and took the hand offered to him and stood up.

"I guess I'm glad now that Jasper was the one to always wake me up..." Yvette said as she watched Walter and Swift walk over to her,

Swift no longer seeming quite as upset gave Walter a firm pat on the shoulder, which the other man returned.

Ben laughed and shook his head.

"It seems as though you handled yourself quite well." Swift said looking down at her with a sparkle in his eye. "Walter was right about you, I do believe you could be the one to lead Albion in a revolution." he added.

"Well if old Swifties behind you, I guess I have no choice." Ben said giving her a lopsided smirk, when she pouted at him.

The blonde soldier stood up slowly, careful not to aggravate his injured head too much, and extended his hand out to the still sitting woman.

"Oh, why thank you kind sir." Yvette said sarcastically and took his hand and allowed him to hoist her up off the ground.

"Careful, you allow his ego to get larger than it already is." Walter told her, glancing over to Ben, who frowned.

Swift chuckled and looked around, noticing a few of his men beginning to stir and he quickly turned back to the group, clearing his throat, gaining their attention.

"Princess, my men and I will be willing to follow you into battle, but promise me, once you take the throne, you will restore the Royal Army to its former glory." he asked in all seriousness.

Yvette nodded and did her best to look tall and ready to lead the fight as she extended her hand to him.

"I promise to you Major Swift, that I will do all in my power to do so, and if possible I will make it better."

Swift smiled widely and gripped her hand firmly.

"I shall hold you to it princess, and I look forward to following you into battle." he replied and then looked up to Walter. "It'll be just like old times!"

"Oh indeed it will, but I don't remember us ever having to overthrow a tyrannical king." the old soldier relied stroking his beard, in mock thought.

"Ah, then it shall be one for the history books!" Swift said and then turned around to survey the fort before turning back to the small gaggle. "Enough chit-chat, we should be helping my men." Swift said and walked off to help his downed soldiers

"Will do." Ben said with a salute, before nodding to the princess and Walter and heading off with Major Swift.

"Well, come on, let's see if we can help anyone...why don't you look around and see if there any potions or medicine lying around." Walter said.

"Sure thing." Yvette replied and clicked her tongue to Ambrose, knowing he could find almost anything with that nose of his. "Come on boy!"

The hound wagged his tail and jumped around his master happily causing her to laugh as she walked towards some broken crates, and turned over tables.

"How about if you find something I'll give you a treat." she told him chuckling and he barked excitedly and rushed off.

Yvette sighed and shook her head, making her way over to the crates and upturned table and began to sort through the debris.

Pushing a plank from the broken table out of her way, something caught her eye; a wrinkled piece of parchment with messy writing scribbled over it stuck out from beneath the pile. Carefully she plucked it from the rubble, eyes darting around, making sure that no one had noticed her before scanning over the messy hand writing.

As she read it over she felt her breath catch in her throat, it was Ben's...at least she thought it was; she continued to read.

As she read on she felt her heart sink a little in her chest at the life he described; all this time she had lived such a lavish life, it wasn't until reading this did she really get a feel for how much squaller so many people in Albion lived in.

When she finished she noticed that she had been gripping the paper unusually tight, so much so her hands had begun to shake. Quickly she turned away from the parchment, trying to clear her thoughts, before glancing back down at it briefly.

A happy panting alerted her that Ambrose was at her side and she looked down to the excited hound.

"Find something boy?" she asked him with a sad smile and he barked in reply, oblivious to the uneasiness of his master. "Alright boy, lead away." she said and followed slowly after him as he ran ahead.

As she followed after her faithful hound she gently folded the paper in her hand and tucked into her pocket, not quite sure what to do with it yet.


	5. Ch 5: The Joy of Mud

**Author's note:** part of this chapter was actually supposed to be part of the last one, but I got lazy. This one will be taking a few artistic liberties when Walter and the princess journey back to Bowerstone. Anyway, good times ahead, much merriment and drinking, at least on the soldiers part, poor Yvette is too much of a lightweight to even compete with them...Any how thank you again to all my reviewers, I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

It was nearly noon by the time all of the wounded soldiers were patched up, and their injuries taken care of. The soldiers that could, sat around drinking with one another in celebration, some already pleasantly drunk.

Walter laughed heartedly at something one of the men said before taking a large gulp from the foaming mug before him.

Yvette sipped at the stale tasting alcohol, quickly deciding she liked wine, or even fresh ale much more than the skunky stuff provided at the fort. She sat the mug back down, knowing that there was no way she could finish it; rolling her tongue around her mouth, she tried to cleanse it of the bitter tasting liquid. She felt the bench beside her ground and buckle slightly under the strain of an added weight and she turned to see Ben taking a seat beside her, another full mug of ale in his hand.

He gave her a lopsided smirk and took a swig from his mug.

"Your first time drinking, princess?" he asked jokingly, glancing at her half finished mug, out of the corner of his eye.

"No...I've had wine at dinner, and occasionally a pint with Walter down at the pub when I was able to sneak away from the castle...Of coarse, those few times with Walter resulted in me being carried back to the castle acting very silly and foolish after only one or two pints...I fear my good sir, that I am a lightweight." she said with a sheepish smile.

Ben laughed at this.

"That and I fear your ale is awfully stale, and I don't much care for it." she added, pushing the mug away from her a little further.

"You get used to it." he replied, taking another gulp; Yvette wrinkled her nose at him.

"I doubt it, I think I'll stick to wine at dinner or water...or at least fresh ale" she said, Ben shrugged but continued to smile contentedly.

She sighed and turned around in her seat, nearly hitting Ambrose who lay at her feet.

"Sorry boy." she said, leaning down and scratching his ears, but he hadn't seemed to have noticed his close call with her booted foot.

Suddenly she felt a large hand rest upon her shoulder and she looked over to see Walter giving her a somewhat solemn look.

"We should get moving soon, we don't want to waste too much time." he said while standing up and rolling his shoulders.

She sighed again, wishing for a goodnights sleep, one that wasn't interrupted by hordes of Hollow men.

"Sure thing." she said standing up as well, dusting off her skirt and leggings. "Don't you want to say goodbye to Major Swift?" she asked as she watched as the old soldier began to walk towards the gates, and she hurried after him.

"Ah, we'll be seeing him soon enough; he and his men won't be far behind us, they're going to the same place we are." Walter replied, looking down to her as they passed through the gates.

Yvette was about to open her mouth to spout out another question when she was interrupted by a certain blonde soldier.

"Hey you old goat! Wait up!"

The two turned to see Ben walking up to them in a hurried stride, securing his rifle which was slung over his back.

"I'm coming with you!" he said with a cheeky grin.

"You're what?" Walter said in surprise.

Yvette couldn't tell if her mentor was dismayed at this idea or applauded it.

"And why the bloody hell would you be doing that?" Walter continued, crossing his arms across his wide chest, brow furrowed.

"We I figured you guys could use some extra muscle...and beside." he said glancing at Yvette momentarily, causing her to squirm a bit under his piercing gaze. "What princess couldn't use the help of a dashing scoundrel?"

"I can take care of myself you know." she told him, placing a hand on her hip with a huff. _Why did everyone assume she needed to be babysat? _

Walter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So, you're coming with us?" he asked looking back to the soldier.

"No use in trying to get rid of me." was the reply, accompanied by a wide smirk,and wink in the princess' direction, Ben knew he had won.

"Just bloody marvelous, now I get to babysit you." Walter said trying to sound as though it was the worst thing in his life to be traveling with the man, but he began to chuckle and shook his head as he turned back around. "Just be keep'n your hands to yourself Finn, I know how you are with the ladies, when you get ale in ya." he added as he continued out of the gates.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Ben called back, before following after him.

Yvette stood rooted to the spot for a moment, watching the two men walk on; her gaze slowly fell to Ben's backside. She quickly diverted her eyes, feeling her face heat up, and she chided herself for her starring. _"What in Avo's name is wrong with me?"_ she thought as she began to follow after the two soldiers; Ambrose trotting along side her.

"I am a woman after all...right boy?" she said softly to her furry companion, who looked up at her curiously.

As she looked back up to the blonde soldier, she felt her stomach do a small flip-flop and she sighed in annoyance; once again she thought of Elliot, and the first time she had felt the same feeling for him.

Glancing back up, she glared at the back of Ben's head; _curse him, and curse her silly feelings._

_

* * *

_

Mourningwood was the same as it had been the first time she had set foot in it, soggy and smelly; groaning she trudged though the muddy earth, trying her best to keep up with the rest.

"Walter, isn't there a simpler path?" she asked, though it sounded more like a whine than a question.

"Cutting through the swampland is our fastest way back to the Bowerstone sewers." he replied, looking back down to map, causing Yvette to become fearful that they were lost again.

"I still don't see why you're using a map; you could practically follow the stench and muck all the way there without too much of a problem." Ben added with a chortle, Walter laughed.

Yvette grumbled to herself and did her best to pick up the pace, cursing as her boots suctioned into the muddy earth.

"...Bloody hell, this damn mud..." she muttered.

"My, my! We certainly do have the mouth, don't we princess?" she heard Ben say ahead of her.

"Shut up Ben." she hissed, forcefully pulling herself from the mud.

"Just carrying on a friendly conversation." he called back, she could tell that he was grinning.

"Bullocks..." she said, though quiet enough so that he could not hear.

Ambrose barked at her side and she looked over just as he bolted off towards a rabbit that had scurried off into a bush.

"Oh, let it alone Ambrose, you're scarring the poor thing!" she called after him.

"You know how he is, chases everything that moves, must be why he chases his tail so much." Walter said back to her, as he struggled to push a vine out of his way.

"I suppose..." she said with a sigh, and continued to struggle along after to two soldiers.

A few moments later she heard a rustling in the underbrush to her right and she turned just as the rabbit Ambrose had been chasing jumped out from the hedge and darted out in front of her and into the brush across the way. Moments later Ambrose bolted out in pursuit, taking the same path the rabbit had taken, however he was much larger than the creature.

Before Yvette could react, the hound ran into her shins, and she began to fall forwards as Ambrose continued the chase. She tried to lift her leg to stop herself from falling but found her boot was once again suctioned in the mud;...after that everything seemed to go in slow motion.

As she fell she reached out to anything that she could to stop herself, she found purchase on the back of Ben's trousers, but it was too little to late and her hand slid down the back of his leg and she fell face first into the muck.

* * *

Ben watched out of the corner of his eye as the royalties dog chased after a frighten rabbit in the brush, and chuckled to himself. Dogs would be dogs, no matter if they were noble dogs or peasant dogs.

A while later more rustling interrupted the forests stillness, and he assumed that the dog was still absorbed in the chase, but paid it really no heed as he continued to follow after Walter.

From behind him he heard Yvette make a sound of surprise and what sound like the hounds name; as he went to turn he felt a shove from behind and a hand on his backside. He grinned wickedly, the only person behind him was the princess. As he went to open his mouth and comment on the well placed hand he felt it slip down to the back of his thigh, to his calf to were he felt her take a firm hold around his ankle.

Instead of a smart, flirtatious comment coming out of his mouth a surprised garble took its place as she held his leg fast, rooting it to the spot. There was little he could do as he too fell forward, face first into the mud as well.

Walter stopped in his tracks as he heard two loud 'splats' from behind him, and he slowly turned, ready to yell at Ben for any Shenanigans he was starting. However when he turned around, he saw something rather unexpected, and it made him pause for a moment before he roared in laughter.

* * *

The first thing Yvette saw when she looked up was the muddy heel of Ben's shoe she paused for a moment, curious, and it dawned on her when she saw her hand on his ankle that she had dragged him down into the mud with her.

She could hear Walter laughing as she quickly let go of Ben's ankle, and the blonde soldier began to pull himself from his unexpected mud bath.

"You two are out of my sight for two seconds and look at the mess you've gotten into!" Walter said through his fits of laugher.

"Oh, shut it." Ben muttered as he dragged himself to his knees, trying to use his equally dirty hand to wipe the mud from his face.

The princess sat up rather embarrassed and flung her arms out and flapped them as though she were trying to fly away in an attempt to remove the muck from her clothing.

Ben quickly stumbled to his feet, glancing down at the rest of himself, he could hear Walter's laughter grow once more. He let out an exasperated huff before turning around to see the princess still sitting upon the ground, trying to rub the mud from her face on the back of a dirty sleeve. He extended his hand to her.

"You know if you wanted to get down and dirty with me, you only had to ask." he had smiling at her cheekily as she took his hand.

As she stood before him she could only imagine that she looked like a fish out of water, as her mouth opened and closed, and open and closed.

"At a loss for words, I know I sometimes have that effect on beautiful ladies." he added.

From behind Ben, Yvette could see Walter pinching the bridget of his nose and shaking his head. Finally she found her voice, her face burning as she spoke.

"I think you might need a good dunk in the Bowerstone river! Not only to wash the mud off, but to clear you head!" she sputtered and began to once again trudge through the mud. "And to think I thought you were charming..." she muttered.

Ben turned abruptly when he heard her say the latter.

"You think I'm charming do you?" he asked, a smug smile growing on his face as he watched her stomp past Walter.

"Watch yourself Finn." Walter warned.

Before Ben had the chance to reply, Yvette called back to them impatiently.

"Come on, we're wasting time just standing around."

"Alright, Alright!" Walter called back with a chuckle, beginning to follow after her. "Never were in this much of a hurry before..."

Ben looked down to his side where Ambrose had joined him moments before, equally as mud covered as himself and the princess,

"Well come on boy, time to get moving." he said down to the hound, who wagged his tail happily at the attention.

Slowly Ben followed after Walter and the princess, all the while trying to rid his clothes the best he could of the mud.


End file.
